Scrambling the Truth.Author: RaineDate:07/03/2013 15:14:04

PARIS  Bolivia's president left Europe for home on Wednesday in a flurry of diplomatic drama after his flight was rerouted and delayed in Austria, allegedly because of suspicion he was trying to spirit NSA leaker Edward Snowden to Latin America.

Bolivia accused the United States of ordering European countries to block President Evo Morales' flight from their airspace, and accused European governments of "aggression" by thwarting the flight.

However it's still unclear whether European countries did block the plane and, if so, why. French, Spanish and Portuguese officials all said Wednesday the plane was allowed to cross their territory.

This is a pertinent part:

In Vienna, an official said that Morales' aircraft asked controllers at Vienna airport to land because there was "no clear indication" that the plane had enough fuel to continue on its journey.

"We're talking about the president on an official trip after an official summit being kidnapped," Bolivia's ambassador to the United Nations, Sacha Llorenti Soliz, told reporters in Geneva.

The Bolivian plane, which was taking Morales home from an energy conference in Moscow, was stranded at Vienna airport for several hours after Portugal and France refused to allow it to fly through their airspace.

NSA leaker Edward Snowden has decided against seeking political asylum in Russia.

A Russian government spokesman said Tuesday that Snowden has withdrawn his request following President Vladimir Putin's statements on the matter Monday. In a statement to reporters, Putin said that he would allow Snowden to remain in Russia as long as Snowden stopped "his work aimed at harming our American partners, as strange as that sounds coming from my lips."

Snowden has reportedly filed for political asylum in 15 countries, but is still holed up in the transit section of Russia's Sheremetyevo airport. The U.S. is attempting to have him extradited back to the States, where he has been charged with espionage after leaking NSA information to the public. Russia, however, has no extradition treaty with the U.S., and Putin said Monday that he would not turn Snowden over to U.S. government officials.

Other sources have the number of requests at over twenty countries, many quite reticent on the idea of accepting him.

Germany, The Netherlands and Poland rejected Mr Snowden's asylum bid; an Indian foreign ministry said there was no reason to accede to the request; and Brazil said it was not going to respond.

Austria, Finland, Iceland and Norway each said Mr Snowden's request was invalid because it was not filed from inside their respective countries. Ireland and Spain issued similar statements.

After the plane touched down in Vienna the foreign minister of Bolivia, David Choquehuanca, said that they say it was due to technical issues, but after getting explanations from some authorities we found that there appeared to be some unfounded suspicions that Mr. Snowden was on the plane.

We dont know who invented this big lie, Mr. Choquehuanca said at a news conference in La Paz, Bolivia. We want to express our displeasure because this has put the presidents life at risk.

From that same article:

The problems began even before Mr. Morales left Moscow, Mr. Choquehuanca said. On Monday, Portugal, without explanation, had withdrawn permission for Mr. Moraless plane to stop in Lisbon to refuel, the foreign minister said. That required Bolivian officials to get permission from Spain to refuel in the Canary Islands.

The next day, after taking off from Moscow, Mr. Moraless plane was just minutes from entering French airspace, according to Mr. Saavedra, when the French authorities informed the pilot that the plane could not fly over France.

There was also plenty of confusion in Moscow over how Mr. Snowden could possibly have left undetected on a government aircraft.

Confused yet? So am I. No one seems to know where this rumor got started. No one even wanted to take a chance that he was on board, based on a rumor that no one seems to know where it came from. Russia? Bolivia? The USA? Wikileaks? Maybe the answer is somewhere in between:

The speculation that Mr. Snowden would hitch a ride on a government jet was discounted by the fact that the plane would have to first make a quick flight from one Moscow airport to the other.

In an interview with the television station Russia Today, Mr. Maduro said he would consider any request by Mr. Snowden. Then, ending the interview with a dash of humor, he said, Its time for me to go; Snowden is waiting for me.

I've spent the last two hours trying to find the answer to how this mess unfolded. Snowden might be a hero to some, but what is happening now is hurting international security and diplomacy. He withdrew his asylum request after being told he would have limitations to what he can and cannot do. At this point, why would anyone want to take him in? If he did this to his own nation, what is to stop him from doing this to other countries?

Mrs. Trisec has been posting this morning, so I suspect he is alright. Maybe he's just blocked at work?

Comment byTriSec on 07/03/2013 13:05:43

TriSec is suffering from a lack of motivation and loquaciousness.

And this.

It may be a short week, but it is very wide.

Comment bywickedpam on 07/03/2013 13:08:40

Morning

Is that Rusty back from his big adventure?

Comment byMondobubba on 07/03/2013 13:13:11

Quote by TriSec:TriSec is suffering from a lack of motivation and loquaciousness.

And this.

It may be a short week, but it is very wide.

Yay! Nice to see you sir!

Comment byRaine on 07/03/2013 13:15:58

Quote by wickedpam:Morning

Is that Rusty back from his big adventure?

I don;t know, but I'm gonna believe it is.

Comment byRaine on 07/03/2013 13:18:01

I'm trying to piece together this mess of a Plane situation over night.

Comment bywickedpam on 07/03/2013 13:18:57

Quote by Raine:

Quote by wickedpam:Morning

Is that Rusty back from his big adventure?

I don;t know, but I'm gonna believe it is.

me too

Comment byRaine on 07/03/2013 13:24:22

It appears that Snowden actually is about the most unwanted man in the world right about now.

Comment byMondobubba on 07/03/2013 13:25:29

Quote by wickedpam:

Quote by Raine:

Quote by wickedpam:Morning

Is that Rusty back from his big adventure?

I don;t know, but I'm gonna believe it is.

me too

Yes Rusty is home safe. They found him hanging with hipsters in Adams Morgan the same day he escaped. Coincidentally, that was the same day the SSG's eldest, Miles started his two week stint as a zoo volunteer. He has been blogging about it.

Looks like all those white counties on the map go on my personal "avoid travel in this area" list.

They might not like WBC as well they aren't reporting to the WH.

Comment byMondobubba on 07/03/2013 14:23:58

Tri this is special just for you (I don't think you saw it yesterdee):

âA man is on his first visit to Boston, and he wants to try some of that delicious New England seafood that heâd long heard about. So he gets into a cab, and asks the driver, âCan you take me to where I can get scrod?â The driver replies, âIâve heard that question a thousand time, but never in the pluperfect subjunctive.ââ

Comment byMondobubba on 07/03/2013 14:24:29

Tri this is special just for you (I don't think you saw it yesterdee):

âA man is on his first visit to Boston, and he wants to try some of that delicious New England seafood that heâd long heard about. So he gets into a cab, and asks the driver, âCan you take me to where I can get scrod?â The driver replies, âIâve heard that question a thousand time, but never in the pluperfect subjunctive.ââ

Comment bywickedpam on 07/03/2013 14:25:42

Quote by Mondobubba:

Quote by wickedpam:Trying to find some vanilla beans to make extract - what's better - Madagascar, Tahitian, Mexican, Indian or Indonesian?

Hey let's not use the c-word (cure you degenerates! Minds out of the gutter now!).

Comment byRaine on 07/03/2013 15:18:28

I'm going to put this here....

because the Blog is up!

Comment bywickedpam on 07/03/2013 15:35:02

and because Red Panda's = cuteness

Blog - it was a totally weird rumor that popped up on WTOP suddenly while we were driving home last night.

Comment byMondobubba on 07/03/2013 15:39:18

Quote by TriSec:The world is likely to split open at some point today and Satan and his minions will rise and force Gay dogs to lie down with men, but not because same-sex marriage was approved in the United States.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have the best record in baseball.

Think about it.

As Alan Tyduk in his role of Bill the Pirate from "Dodgeball" would say yaaarrr!

Comment byMondobubba on 07/03/2013 15:40:58

Edward Snowden is fast becoming another term for hopelessly naive mook. Or perhaps gmoke.

Comment byMondobubba on 07/03/2013 16:07:58

Mala, you do realize the Alan Tudek name check was totally for you.

Bill The Pirate:

Wash:

Comment byMondobubba on 07/03/2013 16:09:51

Google, we want you back! Why have your forsaken your loyal minions.

Comment byRaine on 07/03/2013 16:11:04

Quote by Mondobubba:Edward Snowden is fast becoming another term for hopelessly naive mook. Or perhaps gmoke.

-- I've never liked what has been going on with the NSA -- but Snowden hasn't revealed anything except slides and meta data. He has given me NO reason to trust him. Not by his actions or his threats to leak more information.

I'm not sure if I am willing to believe Greenwald when he says: Trust me. Just read that and tell me why I am supposed to believe him, Snowden or wikileaks-- As a matter of fact GG said

Glenn Greenwald says on MSNBC Snowden's Wikileaks statement sounded like it was "flavored with some person who isn't Edward Snowden."

It now looks as if Snowden simply grabbed everything he could get, and dumped it all to several sources, very probably including China and Russia. The claims that Snowden âcarefully screenedâ anything seem, uh, somewhat suspect.

SPIEGEL has decided not to publish details it has seen about secret operations that could endanger the lives of NSA workers. Nor is it publishing the related internal code words. However, this does not apply to information about the general surveillance of communications. They don't endanger any human lives -- they simply describe a system whose dimensions go beyond the imaginable. This kind of global debate is actually precisely what Snowden intended and what motivated his breach of secrecy. "The public needs to decide whether these policies are right or wrong," he says.

Comment bywickedpam on 07/03/2013 16:14:32

Quote by Mondobubba:Mala, you do realize the Alan Tudek name check was totally for you.

Bill The Pirate:

Wash:

I sorry I wasn't paying attention, plus I haven't seen Dodgeball so it flew over my head. Now if you'd simply said "curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal" I would be totally there with ya

Three weeks ago, Edward Snowden told the Guardian newspaper that âthe sense of outrageâ over the secret surveillance programs he had disclosed âhas given me hope that, no matter what happens to me, the outcome will be positive for America.â (snip)

At the start, Snowdenâs revelations to the Guardian and The Post promised to put him in the distinguished company of Daniel Ellsberg and others who exposed government wrongdoing. But rather than come home and face trial â giving the nation the debate he claimed to seek about assaults on Americansâ privacy â he has allowed the story to become all about his life as a fugitive in Hong Kong and Moscow and his many asylum requests.

Along the way, Snowden teamed up with WikiLeaks, known for its indiscriminate dumping of classified material, and he has been revealing further government secrets that seem to serve no purpose other than embarrassing the United States and winning favor (so far unsuccessfully) with American rivals and foes. On Monday, a statement issued in Snowdenâs name by WikiLeaks accused President Obama of âpolitical aggressionâ in opposing his asylum requests.

âThe fixation on asylum is a huge distraction, and it contradicts what he was purporting to do,â says constitutional lawyer Bruce Fein. That opinion should carry extra weight because Fein is representing Snowdenâs father, Lonnie.

Comment byMondobubba on 07/03/2013 16:45:06

Quote by wickedpam:

Quote by Mondobubba:Mala, you do realize the Alan Tudek name check was totally for you.

Bill The Pirate:

Wash:

I sorry I wasn't paying attention, plus I haven't seen Dodgeball so it flew over my head. Now if you'd simply said "curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal" I would be totally there with ya

Hence the pictures of Alan Tyduk's best roles. We don't talk about his turn in "Dollhouse." Or for that matter, "Dollhouse" in general.

Comment bywickedpam on 07/03/2013 16:52:00

Quote by Mondobubba:

Quote by wickedpam:

Quote by Mondobubba:Mala, you do realize the Alan Tudek name check was totally for you.

Bill The Pirate:

Wash:

I sorry I wasn't paying attention, plus I haven't seen Dodgeball so it flew over my head. Now if you'd simply said "curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal" I would be totally there with ya

Hence the pictures of Alan Tyduk's best roles. We don't talk about his turn in "Dollhouse." Or for that matter, "Dollhouse" in general.

pix aren't showing up for me - never watched Dollhouse think it conflicted with something else at the time going to put it in my Netflix

Comment byMondobubba on 07/03/2013 16:53:23

Quote by Raine:

Quote by Mondobubba:Edward Snowden is fast becoming another term for hopelessly naive mook. Or perhaps gmoke.

-- I've never liked what has been going on with the NSA -- but Snowden hasn't revealed anything except slides and meta data. He has given me NO reason to trust him. Not by his actions or his threats to leak more information.

I'm not sure if I am willing to believe Greenwald when he says: Trust me. Just read that and tell me why I am supposed to believe him, Snowden or wikileaks-- As a matter of fact GG said

Glenn Greenwald says on MSNBC Snowden's Wikileaks statement sounded like it was "flavored with some person who isn't Edward Snowden."

It now looks as if Snowden simply grabbed everything he could get, and dumped it all to several sources, very probably including China and Russia. The claims that Snowden âcarefully screenedâ anything seem, uh, somewhat suspect.

A thought: Snowden is GG's wet dream. Here's a guy who has fulfilled what GG thinks about the US Gummint. Since GG is true believer he's gonna take anything that Snowden has told him as gospel. He will never back down even if he's proven wrong.

Comment byTriSec on 07/03/2013 16:53:52

Hmmm....and what could be more American than boneless pork ribs on the grill tomorrow, dripping with Ah-So sauce, some Sams under the ice, and an apple pie?

Comment byRaine on 07/03/2013 17:04:29

Quote by TriSec:Hmmm....and what could be more American than boneless pork ribs on the grill tomorrow, dripping with Ah-So sauce, some Sams under the ice, and an apple pie?

Comment byTriSec on 07/03/2013 17:07:31

And my new music maxim:

"The mere fact of listening to Dave Brubeck automatically makes you cooler."